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More Facts About Salamanders Than You Need
Some interesting trivia about an unusual amphibian.
I vacationed once with my oldest three children spending a week camping at Camp Koinonia in upstate New York. While there we happened to come across these fascinating little creatures that I later found out were salamanders. My oldest son caught a couple and snuck them home with us, hiding them in his luggage.
Not the Normal House Pet
They changed from orange to brown and brown to orange, hiding under the recently fallen leaves from early autumn. Unfortunately we did not know how to care for them, so I have no idea what became of these fascinating little guys. For all I know they may have become a snack for Tiger, our cat.
Long tailed salamander by Michael Cravens
So just in case one of your little ones decide to sneak one of these into your home I have found a wonderful site that offers tips on keeping yours healthy.
Donald and Louise Peattie tell a beautiful little story about our friends the salamanders in Marvels and Mysteries of Our Animal World (1964). Donald and Louise bundle up and wander out to the woods during the first rain which signals the spring thaw. The amphibians are awakened from their long sleep by the “lengthening day and the patter of rain”. They quietly watch and wait as the female salamanders perform their nuptial dance and the males “lay little white spermatophores – like collar buttons – on the leaves.” It is in this action among many others performed by God’s creatures, that we witness the beginning of a new season.
If you were turned off by the salamander’s appearance, here is a fact to endear them to you:
They Eat Flies
If animals had a “Most Dangerous” label, it would belong to the common housefly. Because of his detestable habit of visiting human and animal waste the fly transmits more disease than any other animal. That being said, we should pay homage to creatures that eat flies. They also eat earthworms, pill bugs, beetles, small millipedes, aphids, small moths and other night-flying insects.
Tiger Salamander by Michael Cravens
According to Michael salamanders, newts and caecilians all belong to the category amphibians belonging to the aquatic vertebrates which first inhabited the earth. Although there are approximately 4,000 known species of amphibians, this particular group (salamanders and newts) are found only in the Americas and temperate zones of Africa, Asia and Europe.
They have no scales, claws or ear openings. There is one breed which also is lungless, called the American lungless species.
The rare grotto salamander, although it is born with eyes, undergoes a strange phenomenon during metamorphosis. It enters a cave, which will become its life long home and there the salamander’s eyelids grow together causing it to become blind. The Georgia blind salamander is one of the rarest of all salamanders and is actually born without eyes.
They fall into three categories: the fully aquatic, fully terrestrial (which are aboreal) and semi-aquatic. The semi-aquatic will live primarily on land but enter the water to breed. The fire salamander of Europe has been known to drown when it returns to water to mater.
The terms eft and newt are Anglo-Saxon words meaning “lizard-like” used to describe salamanders. The eft is the animal in its land cycle and the newt is the animal in its watery phase. Some have been known to become a bright red color while on land, and then become spotted when returning to water. Gils are also an addition to some of those who remain in water, and are lost once they return to land.
While lizards have five toes, salamanders never have any more than four on their front toes.
Although their young may be confused with tadpoles, note that the head is not as large as that of the (frog) tadpole.
Just behind the head, you will note the feather gill structure. The gills are retained for aquatic life or lost when the salamanders stays on land, as the tiger salamander does.
Picture of a Mexican axolotl found in Wild, Wild World of Animals Reptiles & Amphibians.
They are voiceless.
They Begin Eating Immediately after Hatching
It’s hard to believe that something this small could start eating, but they begin eating small aquatic animals immediately.
They May be Cute but NOT Cuddly
They should not be handled. The oils and salt in our skin is toxic to them, and they secrete fluids from their skin which can irritate our mucous membranes. It is best to scoop them up with a net gently. If they must be handled hands should be washed and rinsed thoroughly before and after handling.
A healthy salamander will not want to be handled, but will appear skittish from handling. They should appear plump, but not bloated. Ribs should not appear bony. Skin and eyes should appear clear without scratches or discoloration. New ones should be quarantined for several weeks or months before adding to the group.
.Fire salamanders are amphibians which can be found throughout most of Europe and in parts of Asia and Africa.
The male grows to about 17 cm (including the tail) and the females to approximately twice that.
They have a clever way to protect themselves, emitting salamandrin from
special pores on their back, a poison strong enough to kill small animals.
The Fire Salamander is not Fireproof
The fire salamander is believed to have gotten its name from hibernating in logs, and when the piled logs had been placed in a fire they would come crawling out. Some actually believed they were fireproof.
Salamander means “Fire Lover”
The scientific name is Ambystoma maculatum and means Ambystoma or “Blunt mouth” and Maculatum means “Spotted”
The Southeastern US has more salamanders than any other region in the world.
A spotted salamander can live to between 20 to 30 years old.
They have very sensitive skin, so if populations of salamanders are healthy it would be an indication that the air is cleaner there.
Salamanders have 10 times more DNA in each cell than humans do.
Some spotted salamanders deposit eggs with clear jelly and others deposit eggs with a cloudy jelly.
Log in here for activity sheets for the kids
The largest amphibian is the giant salamander, which can grow to reach 5 ft. in length according to High Tech Science. So if you bring one home, I would recommend you select a smaller breed, or get ready to give up your bath tub.
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30 Comments
I’d never salamander that huge! wow!
very interesting article about salamander, i really enjoyed reading it. thanks a lot Judy,be well always
I love to learn new thing, and this is it. Wonderful article, beautiful pictures, and with all the facts listed here, I’m less terrified..
Desmonrock21, Nobert, and Icy, thank you for reading and commenting. It was a fun article to do because I found so much information on them.
Icy, I think they have more to fear from us than us from them.
Take care and God bless.
…Hi Judy, so much interesting information,
) Thank you and take care.
so the females grow twice as long as the males,
go girls.
Quiet Voice, I thought that was pretty special too, so of course, I had to add it. Of course. lol
Thanks for reading.
Take care & God bless.
When I was a youngster we had a spring on our place where these little guys bred. We played with them all the time but I haven’t seen one in years.
Interesting facts Judy. I was surprised to learn that some of them grow to be that big.
Very good article, I did not know that there are salamanders so big.
My claps for your research
Ruby, Anne, Tonisano60, thanks for reading. Ruby, maybe you’ll see them again in the spring. Anne and Tonisano, I was amazed at how big they get also.
Beautiful animal, thanks Judy, I never knew this animal before. from the picture, I want look direct I want watch Big Salamander atthe last picture, and this article you have finished at night. tahnks Judy.
Dhika, thank you for reading. He is pretty big, huh?
those are scary!!
Alexa, you think so? I would be scared of the big ones, but not the little ones.
Wow, interesting!
Chan and Curious to Know, Thank you for reading and supporting.
Curious to Know, I am Chan’s honorary sister. Chan is very special to me.
I enjoyed looking at the picturns. Wow the two last slamanders are huge..
TT, so does that mean you don’t want one for Christmas?
Love,
Grandma
Great pictures, Judy.
Thanks Louie, for reading.
Take care & God bless.
wow, that second to last one looks sorta like a hot dog.lol.Judy, these are great, and im glad i could use them, as i have long report to do and salamanders was my subject.thanks!
not to do anthing to lure people away from this site, but theres a very cool 3D website that could and manely should have to do with legos.(i cant believe it doesnt.) it is called roblox. (hopefully this will be link.) http://www.roblox.com
Fancypants101, how did you do on your homework?
it is fun facts
Ommo, they were, weren’t they?
Take care & G♥d bless!
I hope you know capturing endangered salamanders is a federal offence punishable by law up to $50,000 and a year in prison for a first offence. You have violated multiple offences under the Endangered Species Act. Taking something from the wild in which you have no idea to care for was a very foolish thing to do.
Dennis, thank you for bringing this to my attention. My oldest is now 38 and I am not sure if there was such a law this many years ago, but I would never break a law knowingly, and did not even know he had brought them home until I found them later in an aquarium. I do not want to harm any of God’s creatures and wrote this out of respect for them.
Take care & God bless.
Thanks for the information! My husband and I regularly find salamanders wandering through the house…which we catch and put outside. I didn’t realize that we could be harming them with our oils. We’ll have to be more careful, especially since we thought we were helping them!
Thanks for the information! My husband and I regularly find salamanders wandering through the house…which we catch and put outside. I didn\’t realize that we could be harming them with our oils. We\’ll have to be more careful, especially since we thought we were helping them!
Laura, thanks for reading & commenting. They’re fascinating.